Downpipe cleaning

Hey just wondering what any of you guys that ride a naked use to clean/polish up stainless downpipes?
Also looking for a decent wheel cleaner/degreaser to get rid of dry chain lube :-(

Topical! The previous weekend I had a go at trying to get my headers looking a little less like they are supposed to be black. Got as much dirt off using Muc-Off and a sponge, then the abs/biceps workout using Chrome polish (I have Holts and Autoglym) and a cloth. Seems the hard work is eventually rewarded, but I caved in before I got it all gleaming. The shiny bits are  highlighting the non polished bits, not that I'm ODC COD OCD in the least, but it is annoying me now.

Same Muc off for the rims, mind you mine is covered in dirty Scot oil, makes a proper mess of the sponge (soap powder in a bucket and soak gets the sponge clean)

There you go cleaning tips from Mr Ever Hardly cleans his bike, there's most likely better tips from those that are better at cleaning than me

I know I nearly fell off the chair when your name popped up haha and you got through it without taking the piss! You feeling alright? Haha
Thanks for the tips. Which muc off do you use because I've found that the 'push bike' one is usually 6 quid for a 2 litre bottle and the 'motorbike' one is 8 quid for a 1 litre bottle?? Surely it's all same stuff?

Haven't a clue if push bike cleaner is the same, would have thought it might not be as 'aggressive' I bought bulk, which you can imagine is lasting me a long time - think it might have gone up in price since my purchase of 2 x 5l here., use a rather old Hein Gerieke trigger spray bottle.

Incidentally the above story is all true I did indeed try and clean the pipes, oh another tip - don't try and do it on a hot and humid day (mind you little fear of any of that for a long time now)

Other than that, I'm fine thanks (I better go and lie down, re-living all that work has worn me out)

How about this stuff?
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...sounds ideal for polishing bell ends as well.

Yeah I was looking at jat bit didn't know if it was just over priced polish that's being marketed to bikers? Have any of you seen the stuff in a bottle that you just spray on and leave for 30 mins? Looks amazing, there was a video about it on YouTube but I can't find it again. It was some guy in Scandinavia marketing it but you needed to contact him directly to buy so seemed a bit shady?

umm, for a spray and wait fix, with risks I guess (I hope Robertcains doesn't mind me passing on what he found online)

Cheaper and not marketed for bikes, Harpic Max 10 - those who have used it claim a spray (it toilet cleaner) so some sort of application and 15/20 minute wait and wipe all gone. The testimonials are so good I'm tempted to try ( in an inconspicuous part of the garment first though) - you never know, if its good enough for the goo in your loo it might just do the blu on yer pipes

Fast and easy way to remove chain lube from wheels, swing arm and everywhere else you don't want it is to get some panel wipe, put on a cloth and wipe, takes it straight off with no issues and cheaper than Muc Off

Haha you being serious Steve? I've got some of that upstairs but my pipes are always on show so no messing about haha
And cheers white one, I'll give that a go.

The chain lube has been my biggest cleaning issue since ownership. It came with the chain more or less white with drylube from the showroom. The salesman wouldn't shut up about how good it was because it all stays on there and to be fair to him it is all still there, just not on the bloody chain haha I've go through 3 sponges in 2 weeks trying to get rid of it off the wheels

Ive heard the wheel alloy cleaner is good for the pipes as well, agitate it (not by swearing at it either) and wipe off. Never tried it but its what I heard and read.

dudeofrude wrote:Haha you being serious Steve?  

That's what I've seen, if you don't mind waiting a good few weeks I might be tempted to try, just have to get some time, align it with an energy spike and a dry day and let you know.
Not sure if I have that version though

My MV downpipes need a spruce, I'm just not brave enough to be the Guinea Pig lol, I'm told it is 100% effective (full disclaimer issued though)

Well I've had a look about the net for anything about the harpic thing and it is a genuine thing some people use but there are a lot of people advising against it due to the hydrochloric acid it has in it
Apparently it actually damages the metal and causes it to discolour faster after each use.
There are a lot of people saying wonder wheels or wheel cleaners in general are quite good though so might give that a go first since I have some of that demon wheels sitting in the shed.

Will cross Harpic off my list then Think I'm far happier not being clean conscious, dark whatever pipes the new silver effect for me (as they have for many decades )

Haha easy to say when they're covered in fairing. I might well get a belly pan for might to save this hassle haha

Think they are quite exposed, I put the belly pan on but it gets in the way when you want to clean the pipes Oh this is the 'before' dirt pic, nearly 19k miles ago.

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Oh yeah I forgot you don't ride a thundercat anymore haha

dudeofrude wrote:Oh yeah I forgot you don't ride a thundercat anymore haha

A spot of yer own brand of comedy input there dude ? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Touche' En Garde[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] . . . . . . . .

haha Yeah let's go with that

Not that I'm a great one for cleaning bikes - whenever I do it rains on the next ride so the bike's filthy again.

I can't really help with the downpipes - I just try to keep them reasonably free of crud, and accept that they're going to be a brown colour.

As to chain lube, I use Wurth High Performance Dry Chain Lube in summer, which doesn't fling at all, and Renthal chain oil (in a squeezy bottle, so you don't lose most of it through overspray) in winter. Obviously that does fling off, but being oil, rather than wax, it comes off the back wheel etc. quite easily, either with kerosene (28cS central heating oil in my case) or Gunk/Jizer.

I have a 5 litre can of Hein Gericke bike cleaner (which may well be re-badged Muc-off), and that does eventually fetch it off too, but it needs a fair bit of scrubbing. Some time ago I bought a spray bottle of Holts wheel cleaner (for cars) which was quite effective too.

The other way to approach it is to use ACF50, which actually softens greasy stuff, followed by bike cleaner and a hose-down. But that's only cost-effective if you have ACF50 in bulk, and spray it on from a bottle.

While you're doing that, I'll be off for a ride.....

I just use WD-40 on my back wheel. Does the job easy with clearing the chain lube off ( with a cloth ).

Autoglym metal polish for the headers ( not that I've been arsed this year to do them as it's a fiddly job ).

Wonder wheels works a treat on them, and then a good buffing with Autosolve, and plenty of elbow grease.

Thanks for the info guys, I gave 1 pipe a buff with some good old merr polish yesterday and that shined it up well so I'll just have to get the crap off then I'll be able to get them gleaming. I'll try some wheel cleaner. I did buy that demon wheels stuff but had to take it back cause it wasn't safe for powder coated wheels, but I'll see if I can pick up either some wonder wheels or some of the holts stuff this weekend

Give that wonder wheels a good rince off... Mine came up a treat, but I had mine remove from the bike when I done mine...

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That's the stuff I was talking about. Any of you clever people have any ideas what it is?